Sarabande Foundation Founded by Lee Alexander Mcqueen Is Coming to Paris Fashion Week
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LONDON — The Sarabande Foundation founded by the late fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen will host its first designer showroom during Paris Fashion Week on Sept. 29 at Soho House Paris.
The display will include presentations from its fashion and jewelry designers. As part of Sarabande’s spring 2023 showroom, designers Paolo Carzana and Yoav Hadari will be presenting their collections to wholesale clients and international press.
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Sarabande jewelers Conor Joseph, Emily Frances Barrett and Mairi Millar will also be showing their pieces for sale.
Joseph and Millar have collaborated with Carzana and Hadari on special pieces.
“It’s been a dream to offer a free showroom for the designers in Sarabande for a long time,” said Trino Verkade, director of Sarabande, adding that “while London has a wealth of creative talent, Paris is the holy grail for sales and visibility. We decided to arrange the showroom about a month ago, after a conversation with the designers in the studio on their ambitions and the costs associated.”
Sarabande designer Paolo Carzana will be making their London Fashion Week debut with the support of the BFC Newgen at the Old Selfridges Hotel on Sept. 17. The collection is dedicated to Lee McQueen, titled “Imagine we could be the ones to change it all.”
Carzana has used donated fabrics from Alexander McQueen and Joanna Johnston and tapestry sponsored by Welsh mill Melin Tregwynt, as well as bamboo silk, Pinatex pineapple leather and recycled polyester tulle. He collaborated with fellow colleagues Mairi Millar on jewelry; Semin Hong on textiles, and Nasir Mazhar on hats.
“It was important to include a mix of designers and jewelers, and within that include those who would benefit the most from the showroom based on current business size and their collection,” explained Verkade on how she handpicked the designers.
“All of the designers showing are creating exciting collections but they have a creative and commercial variety. Being stocked in global boutiques and leading retailers is the next stage in their distribution strategy.”
The mission for Verkade at Sarabande is to invest in new designers, nurturing and growing their businesses with them.
“We need new creative ideas that are fresh and perhaps challenging. And we also need to be able to work with younger designers in a more flexible wholesale model,” she said.
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